Perpetuating the myth?

I sent a letter to the editor of the Aspen Daily News today:

In her article published Sunday, 11/6/11, titled A multimillion dollar season, Carolyn Sackariason refers to the Merry Go Round restaurant on Aspen Highlands as "the old grocery store that was hauled up by the late Whip Jones, the former owner of Highlands." In an article titled Aspen Highlands restaurant ready for an extreme makeover published on 2/17/11 in The Aspen Times, Jeff Hanle says this is a myth; "The building was constructed from a kit that was apparently popular with grocery stores, according to Hanle. It is a myth that the building served as a grocery store elsewhere and was moved in sections to its perch at mid-mountain at Highlands." Which is it? 

Details, details.

That's got to be infuriating

Royal Street Aspen Art galleries selling fraudulent art?

What a crock!

Another tempest in a teapot this past week here in Aspen, this one stirred up by a ridiculously wrong characterization of an attempt to clean up an ordinance here in Aspen. Happily, the City Council last night unanimously passed the ordinance notwithstanding the opponents' attempt to mislead.

What follows is an email exchange on which I was asked to weigh in:

IamMBB writes:

From reading all of the emails (but not the attachment) and with admitted biases regarding some of the players (Red Ant - bad, "city staffer" - good), it appears to me to be a typical Red Ant et al. based attempt to mischaracterize what city council and city staff are attempting to do.

I find "city staffer"'s explanation credible and the "Red Ant" propaganda incredible.

I think that none of this affects you in the least as an owner of a condo. You can remodel or sell to a new owner who might want to remodel with no more difficulty than when you remodeled before.

What "city staffer" is saying is that if your entire building burnt down, under the current rules, in order for the building to be rebuilt, the building would be treated like a new building which would require employee housing mitigation. "City staffer" doesn't think that's the way it should be, so city staff is asking city council to amend the ordinance to allow an exemption in the case of such a catastrophe. This "Red Ant" group (which I despise by the way) sees this as an opportunity to obscure the real issue and try to repeal the requirement for any mitigation at all in any circumstance. Red Ant thinks employee housing is bad.

~Bridget

In a message dated 9/20/2008 1:18:33 P.M. Mountain Daylight Time, xxxxxxx writes:

Hi Bridget

What do you think of all of this? Would there be any reason for you to attend the meeting? It sure sounds bizarre to us. Since we own a unit in a very old building, should we be concerned? Give us your thoughts.


Sent: 9/19/2008 5:09:43 P.M. Central Daylight Time
Subj: City of Aspen Ordinance 22 Could Affect your Property Rights

Dear Condominium Association Member,

On Monday September 22, Aspen City Council is considering a proposed amendment to an existing code that could affect your property rights.

To help understand the proposal we have inserted email communication from "city staffer" and also an email from the Red Ant. Also attached are the associated documents for your consideration.

If you would like to protest I have included the email address for each Councilman and that of the Director of Planning. Any letter of protest would then become a part of the formal proposal packet which is given to each Councilman. Alternatively there is a link on the Red Ant email to send a letter of protest as well.


>From:"city staffer"
Sent: Wednesday, September 17, 2008 9:35 AM
To: Real Estate Agent #1
Cc: Real Estate Agent #2
Subject: RE: City of Aspen code changes

These requirements have been in place for some time now, about 20 years. They don’t affect remodeling, but do affect demolition and combining of units. The requirements became very restrictive as a result of the moratorium that ended in May 2007. Staff is proposing a few exemptions to these regulations to accommodate situations that we don’t think should be required to provide mitigation – for example, replacement after a catastrophic fire. City Council did want to see a wholesale range of options for more substantive changes to the program and may be interested in further loosening of the requirements or getting rid of the regulation altogether.

So, yes – the requirements are very limiting for those who want to do more than interior remodels. Any combining of units triggers substantial mitigation. But, the regulations are not new. They’ve been in place for some time and were made more restrictive during the moratorium. Staff is proposing some relaxation for unique situations. And, Council may want to go further on relaxing the requirements.


Monday night, staff will be asking for approval of the proposed exemptions at a minimum and direction on the more substantive changes that Council wanted to discuss.

"City staffer"


From: Real Estate Agent #1
Sent: Wednesday, September 17, 2008 10:19 AM
To: City staffer
Cc: Real Estate Agent #2
Subject: RE: City of Aspen code changes

So if a 4 to 40 unit condominium complex becomes obsolete by way of not being economically feasible to remodel and best to completely rebuild at same dimensions, # units etc., how does current code handle that? There would be required mitigation. In the past, the mitigation would only be required for the expansion, not the replacement. But the 07 code changed that. This type of situation is really where there’s a desire to look at the whole program. There is a point at which older buildings have fundamental issues beyond aesthetics.

How would new proposal change that if any? There’s a full range of options from keeping the situation the same to getting rid of the requirements altogether.

If not a complete re build is their some % of renovation, and if so how calculated, at which the same rules would apply as a complete re build? The City has a definition of demolition with a defined methodology of measuring demo. It was last amended in ’01 or ’02 (?).

If true that a building would want to re build do they switch from free market to deed restricted? There would be required mitigation under today’s code, yes. The existing free-market units can be replaced without having to be deed restricted. If the code is amended, that could change.

We have heard there may be a proposal to mandate all buildings be sprinklered in the City - is that true? I’ve not heard that although starting about 15 years ago the fire code requires buildings over 5,000 s.f. gross to be sprinklered.

Thx.
Real Estate Agent #2.


Civil Commotion Condo-Style. . .

Issue # 10, Sept. 19, 2008

The Red Ant regrets that her instincts (and facts) were right on proposed Ordinance #22 - next Monday night's big discussion at City Council that will update a long-standing land use code section concerning the combination, redevelopment and demolition of "multi-family unit dwellings" (condos, townhouses, etc.) and tighten the exemptions that owners have liberally enjoyed for years.

Later in this email you may click through to send a message to Council to voice your concern before the Monday meeting.


It seems that the City is pressing for unprecedented control of what they see as the destruction of POTENTIAL housing for local workers, regardless of whether or not it's YOUR free-market owned unit.

Community Development Director Chris Bendon read The Red Ant Issue #9 and told us that he "saw nothing off base" in our interpretation.

Consider these realistic examples if the formerly loosely-interpreted list of exemptions is formalized into law, and now enforced:

-Identical units in the same building can have wildly different market values depending on who has lived in each unit in the past. (If a locally employed person --even a well paid executive-- ever lived there, those units would be poisoned, and trigger the "mitigation" rule, others would not.)
-The due diligence process for a condo buyer will be nearly impossible. Imagine having to prove whether or not a local worker (never mind this "local worker" is undefined) EVER lived in a specific unit!
-Lenders, as if they are not nervous enough already in the current market, will be ESPECIALLY wary of this due diligence process and valuation issue.
-And realtors, how do you plan to disclose the ramifications of Ordinance #22 to your condo and townhome buyers and sellers? Will contractual materials mandate a lifetime history (rental and ownership) that indicates whether or not residents were "local workers?"
-This regulation likely will have the perverse result of causing condo owners and HOAs to preclude renting/selling to local workers to avoid tainting the units for future mitigation requirements.

Civil Commotion as a Commodity?

The list of exemptions to Ordinance #22 graciously exempts from the punitive measure "non-willful demolition" due to flood, fire or other natural catastrophe. Then there's the curious exemption due to "civil commotion." Civilcommotion? (We're serious.) Of course there's no definition, but apparently if this is the cause of demolition," well, then, exemption is granted.

Yippee!! There goes the neighborhood! We can see it now. Invitations to the Tupperware parties of tomorrow, a.k.a "A Condo Commotion Posse for-hire." Invite 'em over and they'll show up with their blow-torches and tire irons, have a few beers, and next thing you know, your condo is demolished, and, what a coincidence, so is the one next door. Oh no! OH YES! A "Condo Civil Commotion" just occurred! And now you get to re-build your condo and the one you own next door, as one, thankfully without having to build four bedrooms of affordable housing next to the HOA's swimming pool or in your 2-car garage. " But officer, I swear, I just invited a few buddies over for beers. Yep, they were a little hacked at City Council telling them how many ounces they could drink, and it started a little commotion."

The Gant Ants' House Party!

Thankfully, there are several "Options" open for discussion on Ordinance 22. City Council requested that Staff develop additional options for consideration.

The Red Ant encourages you to re-read Issue #9 and the proposed Ordinance 22, which includes these options in Exhibit A

We feel strongly that there is only one choice:
Option 8. The elimination of the program in its entirety.

The Red Ant is an ardent supporter of affordable housing in Aspen, however, this highly questionable land use code section within Ordinance #22 is not the answer. Many experts we have talked with even question its legality.

The Ant has made it easy to make your voice heard.

To send your recommendation for Option 8 to the Mayor and City Council members, CLICK HERE. You will be asked for your name, local address, and an email will automatically be sent to each of them expressing your view. You may edit or make additions to the email text.

Experts Agree

Our mailbox was full with all of your feedback and advice on our questions about Ordinance 22.

A local real estate attorney states: "The ordinance will create uncertainty in the marketplace. In this shaky economic environment buyers need assurance that their investment is safe. But this ordinance will force buyers to consider whether the future value is going to be appropriated by the local government. And every realtor in town will have to disclose this ordinance to potential buyers."

And local realtor Charley Podolak adds: "One of the many unintended consequences of this ordinance is that many buildings fall into total disrepair. If owners must replace 100% of the units on site with affordable housing first, they will likely utilize all of the allotted FAR, density and height before they can build any free-market units to pay for the development."

Be There! Council Needs To See Your Concern

The Red Ant will be at Monday's City Council meeting to promote Option 8. But this measure needs a large chorus of voices to make an impact on Council. Please join us in Council Chambers to speak to this issue. The meeting starts at 5 p.m. However, this item is well into the meeting agenda.


Public comment will take place when the agenda item is discussed. Your email AND your presence is important to make a difference. If passed, the measure will become law in 30 days.

We have been working on The Red Ant blog,

It is now easier to leave your comments about local civic matters, using a screen name or your real identity. We would love to read your opinions!

Marilyn Marks

Elizabeth Milias

Our email address is RedAntAspen@gmail.com

Join our mailing list!

What?

Oh well, at least there are four other coffee shops in Aspen.

Blue laws

Senate Bill 82 has passed both the Colorado House and Senate and awaits the governor's signature.

What is Senate Bill 82?

"A Bill for An Act Concerning the Retail Sale of Alcoholic Beverages on Sundays."

It amends 12-47-901 (5) (b) (II), Colorado Revised Statutes, to delete the prohibition of Sunday sales of alcohol at Colorado liquor stores.

According to our local papers, our local liquor store owners are remarkably opposed.

I have an issue with this. I mean, they really just want a legislatively required day off. Well, if you want to be closed on Sundays, then be closed on Sundays. But it's extremely paternalistic to require all of your competition to also be closed just so that you don't have to face the economic consequences of your choice.

Per Governor Ritter's spokesman, Evan Dreyer, the governor will be doing some additional information-gathering and will then make a decision."

I hope he signs it. I even told him so on Friday.

Dear X Xxxxxxx,

Thank you for taking the time to send Governor Ritter an e-mail. Your thoughts and
concerns are important to him. He receives a heavy volume of e-mail, and each one is
reviewed carefully so it can be appropriately addressed. Due to the high number of emails,
we are unable to respond personally to each one, but please know that your input
means a great deal to Governor Ritter.

The following information was received by our offices:

First Name: X Xxxxxxx
Last Name: Xxxxxxxxx
Age: XX
Email: XXXXXX@XXX.com
Home Phone: XXX-XXX-XXXX
County: Pitkin

Form Type: Share Your Opinion

Subject: Sunday liquor store law

Explanation: Governor Ritter,

As a consumer, I am writing to urge you to sign into law the recently passed legislation allowing liquor stores to open on Sundays.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.


Your Request ID is 032108-183635-XXX

Once again, thank you for taking the time to communicate with our offices.

Sincerely,

The Office of Governor Ritter

The Remo Turn

Yet another consequence of record snowfall is that safety measures on the various mountains need to be adjusted.

On Highlands, there's a safety net on a turn on a catwalk known as the Tomba Turn (referencing alpine skier Alberto Tomba's 98 Winter Olympics crash into a safety net). On the other side of the net is a cliff with a long, virtually vertical drop off. Due to the amount of snow, the existing net was approximately three feet tall.

Rather ineffectual.

So, Steve, who is known at patrol as Remo, initiated and piloted a project to reconstruct the safety net to better serve its original purpose.

The net is now 10+ feet tall and quite bomber.

The turn is now being called the Remo Turn.

I'm not complaining

Really.

Just commenting.

As anyone who's been paying attention knows, we're having a record year. They're harkening back to the early 80s for comparisons and saying that we probably even beating those records.

We're skiing stuff that you never ski. Some of the local hard corps have even skied Red Mountain which is south facing and too sun beaten to hold enough snow to ski. But this year, they're finding six foot stashes.

The other day, some guy feel into an abandoned mine (admittedly roped off) in an area of the Mine Dumps on Aspen Mountain that never gets skied.

The City of Aspen has run out of places to put all the snow they're clearing from the streets. This in a city with a lot of experience in clearing and storing snow.

And Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow today.

It's epic. And fabulous.

But,

We've lived in our house for just over 5 years now. Obviously, since this is the biggest snow year since the early 80s or beyond, this is the biggest snow year since we've owned our house.

We had heard from our neighbors that some of them had roof leakage problems. We always considered ourselves lucky since we didn't seem to suffer the same fate.

Well, not so fast. It took an epic snow year but we've discovered our roof leaks. We no longer feel left out of this cohort of which I'd rather not be a member.

Can you say ice dams? This is why Steve is currently up a ladder in the dark clearing snow off the lower roofs. Hopefully, this will solve our problem.

Do you think I'm being overly optimistic?

Behind the glitz

I have an ambivalent relationship with Winter X Games.

I love the glitz, the lights shining from Buttermilk, the energy, the attention.

I like having "our" X Games athlete, Kevin Connolly, come stay with us. I like hearing the behind the scenes stories he brings back from the venue.

I like seeing the buses from Rocky Mountain National Park and Vail tooling around town.

I watch the coverage. Sometimes I even brave the crowds to venture out to Buttermilk.

But . . .

The X Games crowd contains a significant percentage of riff-raff. Lots of drunk jerks. Last year, riding the bus at noon was very eye opening. Amazing how many "kids" were out of control that early in the day. I don't envy the bus drivers.

This year's X Games brought 72,500 people to town (remember Aspen has a year round population of 6,000), many of whom are people who would never venture to Aspen otherwise.

Town gets trashed. It was better this year since the in-town concerts with such big names as John Legend weren't repeated but still our parking lot here at the office was strewn with beer and soda cans and various other litter and the ATM vestibule at my bank was disgusting (see above).

And to top it off, this morning Steve and I discovered that our car had been burglarized. Since the car was snow covered, we didn't realize that anything was amiss until we opened the door to be greeted with papers strewn around and the center console and the glove compartment gaping at us.

We lost my brand new GPS, a CB radio, four car chargers for various devices and a few other cables.

Gotta love X Games . . .

Phew

I got to work this morning and one of my co-workers greeted me with, "Have you seen the paper yet? Front page! But, it's not too bad."

Ugh. Cue the stomach ache.

But I was pleasantly surprised. Absent a couple of minor errors, the article was very positive. The reporter really seemed to get the message I was attempting to convey.

He even said, "But Xxxxxxxxx took great pains empathizing with other businesses and demographics — from teachers to the Laundromat — that face similar troubles."

Glad that's over.

But you never know when some reaction is going to come out of left field . . .

Uh-oh

I'm gonna be in the paper tomorrow.

I'm not sure how that's gonna go.

I hate being interviewed by reporters, mostly because of the lack of control. I'm saying a, b and c but only c makes it into print.

We're dealing with an issue of being priced out of the market in Aspen. We need to find new space but, as we explore available space, we're finding that either we can't afford what's available or zoning shuts us out.

We provide an invaluable service to both locals and visitors and there's a possibility that we won't be able to maintain an office in town.

We're not the only ones in this boat and I don't want to say that we're more deserving than other businesses.

Hopefully, I conveyed that to the reporter with whom I spoke today.

In addition, the economics of my industry are rather dense and hard for the average joe to grasp. As I often say, 95% of what I do shouldn't be necessary. But it is.

And today, I had to try to educate a reporter while also trying to sound like I know what I'm talking about and trying to not say anything he could quote out of context to make me look stupid or arrogant.

We'll see how successful I was . . .

It's snowing in Crested Butte . . .

but I don't live in Crested Butte.

And it's raining here.

And it's 40 degrees.

Which, of course, is why it's raining.

That just ain't right.

It should not be raining at 8000 feet on the last day of November.

But I'm not going to use the G word. Or really the GW words.

Whatever. I'm not going to use them.

Yet.

That's just wrong

Being wrong annoys me.

I like to know what I'm talking about. If someone tells me something that's contrary to what I believe to be true, I get frustrated. With myself.

Like why didn't I know that? I should have known that.

Or why do I think it's different? Why am I misinformed?

Enough so that I go out of my way for things that are entirely inconsequential.

Take the other day, for example. I ran into a visitor who, granted, used to live here. In the course of our conversation, he complains that the bus from the airport into town isn't free.

I think, yes, it is. I just told my brother that it is. It is, isn't it? When did they change that? Why didn't I know that?

I say, "Really?"

Yep, he maintains. Gotta pay to get from the airport into town.

The conversation moves on and shortly thereafter we go our separate ways.

My separate way involves an immediate detour to the bus station that's 2 blocks away where I ascertain that, in fact, it is free to take the bus from the airport to town and from town to the airport.

Ok, I feel so much better . . .

More reasons I heart Aspen

Yesterday, since it was unseasonably warm, I decided to take Ellie for a stroll through town.

I was meandering down Cooper Street, watching some visitors load their kids in their rental car, when the mom says "Hey, I know you!" to me.

I'm thinking, huh?

"Yep, I hiked the Grand Canyon with you!"

Sure enough, standing in front of me was one of the people with whom I had hiked the Grand Canyon Labor Day weekend of 1998. This being the life changing trip which led almost directly to me moving to Aspen the following Memorial Day weekend.

I hadn't seen her since a party shortly after I had decided to move here.

Encounters like this are such fun. I've had multiple since I moved here.

One day I was walking down the street when a car pulled up next to me. The driver rolled down his window and said my first name, which just happens to be a name I stopped using when I was in 9th grade. Turns out it was someone with whom I had gone to grammar school. He was in Aspen with his whole family including his parents who are very good friends of my parents but who now live hundreds of miles away from where we all grew up and even more hundreds of miles away from here.

Another day I was walking up the street and happened upon one of my old bosses from over twenty years ago.

I also live down the street from a retired judge from Skokie who worked with the father of one of my high school friends.

I recently spoke on the phone with a gentleman whose eight kids all went to my grammar school. When he asked if he needed to spell his last name for me, I said, "No, I went to OLPH."

Just some more reasons why living here is different from living most other places.

I heart Aspen

In Aspen, the students, no matter what grade, call almost all of their teachers by their first names.

The rare teachers who insist on being called Mr. or Ms. just come across as silly (but of course their wishes are "respected").

When Rachel went on the People to People trip this summer, the chaperones were 3 teachers from Grand Junction, all of whom insisted on being called Mr. and Ms. Rachel ended up getting in a heated discussion with one of them about how ridiculous she thought this was.

In eighth grade, one of Rachel's unmarried teachers became pregnant and had a baby.

Nobody said a word about it. There was no negative backlash, really no commentary at all.

The other day, Rachel, now a sophomore, informed me that her world history teacher who is unmarried has announced that she is pregnant.

All I could do was laugh out loud, exclaiming I love Aspen!

No wonder I fit in here so well . . .

She Loves Me

The Aspen Community Theatre's production this year is She Loves Me, a 1963 Broadway musical.

One of four adaptations of Miklos Laszlo's 1937 play, Parfumerie, (the other three being 1940's Shop Around the Corner, 1949's In the Good Old Summertime and, most familiar to us, 1998's You've Got Mail), She Loves Me is the story of two antagonistic shop clerks who are also in love with each other as anonymous lonely hearts club penpals.

It's a cute pretext with humor sprinkled throughout and well-performed by our local talent. While the first half drags a bit, the play really hits its stride in the second half and makes up for any first half shortcomings.

Real life husband and wife Nikki and Jonathon Boxer play the romantic leads and Bryan Gonzalez has a great time playing the cad, Steven Kodaly (pronounced co-day).

Yikes!

Yesterday evening, Rachel and I heard the fire station whistle at around 5:30 pm. Since it wasn't noon, we both said, "Uh-oh, that's a bummer."

Quite the bummer.

Started hearing news reports on the radio that the fire involved a property right across the alley from my parents' condo. Since I'm the designated property manager for their condo (I even get paid for this title), I felt an obligation to go check the situation out, being that I'm so responsible and all.

The desire to gawk had absolutely nothing to do with it.

Smoke blanketed the entire city. Driving down Main Street was a bit surreal. Like a really dirty fog.

I parked a couple of blocks away so that I could maneuver better and walked over. Spent a fair amount of time watching from just across the alley. Almost got sprayed by the fire trucks on the street on the other side of the building. Figured out after, oh, 45 minutes or so that I was probably inhaling toxic materials. D'oh.

Two hours into the fire, they still hadn't gotten inside, since the hot spots kept flaring up.

While vacant, the building, the Holiday House, is employee housing owned by Aspen SkiCo and they were going to start moving in seasonal employees in less than a month. They were just about to finish up with interior renovations. The building is a complete loss so now they're down 60 beds at a time when they were already short on housing. Uggh. I saw Mike Kaplan, the CEO, walking down the street on his cellphone. Must have sucked to be him last night . . .

I got a few pictures. Not as many as I might have since, while I had the presence of mind to grab the camera on my way out the door, I left the memory card in the computer. The internal memory on my camera is pathetic.

Got home and smelled so smoky that I couldn't stand myself . . .

Locals' Discounts

We spent the weekend saving money.

Too bad saving money is so expensive . . .

The "we" are me, Rachel, my brother and sister-in-law. They (B3 & SIL1 and only so far) are coming, along with the rest of the immediate family, to spend Christmas in Aspen.

Christmas in Aspen is pricey. No discounts.

As I have already noted, B3 & SIL1AOSF flew to Aspen to take advantage of the crazy savings on the Classic Pass. In addition, SkiCo's gear shop, Four Mountain Sports, was having its Blowout Sale all weekend long. In addition to that, the Ski Swap was Saturday.

Fall off season can really be the time for locals to score.

So many opportunities to save . . .

After 3 trips to the Blowout Sale and several hours at the Ski Swap, not including the stop at the Buttermilk ticket office, we ended up with 2 classic passes, an employee dependent pass, a locals' clinic pass, 2 pairs of used skis, a pair of new skis, 2 new snowboards with bindings, a pair of new poles, a pair of new bindings, a pair of new ski boots, two pairs of new snowboard boots, a pair of new ski pants, a new jacket and assorted socks, gloves, mittens, long underwear and goggles.

The credit cards were smoking . . .

Factor in the five restaurant meals over 2 days and the live theater (Rachel's high school play) and we certainly did our share for Aspen's off season economy.

actually posted 11/7/07, 12:09 pm

Fighting for Myself

Dara Harvick and Sydney Sailor in Fighting for Myself

Rachel is/was in the Aspen High School fall play which just happened to be performing this weekend, the same weekend that B3 and SIL1AOSF (see tomorrow's post if you're confused) were making their "knuckleheaded Aspen trip" (to quote B3).

So, lucky B3 and SIL1AOSF got to attend a high school performance. Aren't family obligations great? (They claim to have enjoyed it.)

The play which was underwritten by Valley Partnership for Drug Prevention and Response (the local domestic abuse agency) had a decidedly dark cast to it. It consisted of a number of short skits dealing with different adolescent/teen girl issues such as sex, drugs, peer pressure, pregnancy and alcohol.

Two days before the performance, two of the girls were kicked out/dropped out and so there was a last minute scramble to reassign parts and learn entirely new scenes. The cast was entirely female and the girls (Rachel, Erin Daniel, Heather Boronski, Sydney Sailor and Dara Harvick) became fast friends. It was awesome to see how they bonded.

They'll be performing it for the 8th, 9th and 10th grade girls next week but due to the touchy subject matter, they need to get permission slips. The subject matter also threw a wrench into the plans to perform at other schools in the valley to the dismay of the director, Merrily Talbott.

We did go out for a yummy dinner at the bar at Jimmy's afterwards. Bar menus rock.

Actually posted 11/8/07, 6:01 pm

Community

The majority of Aspen locals are transplants, people who are living far from their extended families. So, we have become each others' extended families and we take care of each other.

It's pretty amazing to see.

On Friday, 800 people paid $35 a piece to attend a benefit for a friend, Bob Sloezen, who is fighting bladder cancer and who has found that the gap between his health insurance coverage and his medical expenses was sickeningly large.

So his friends rallied to the call. In addition to all of the liquor and the entertainment for the party, there were approximately 200 items with values ranging from $50 to $5000 donated for the silent auction.

The place was packed. The parking lot was full. The line to get in stretched outside the door. I was there for 4 hours and probably never even saw 500 of my fellow attendees. Maximum capacity was exceeded by scores. Entrance fees alone netted $28,000.

They're calling it the party of the decade.

Boggles the mind

In the past couple of years, the Aspen Animal Shelter engaged in a huge fund-raising effort in order to enable it to move and build a new facility. We now have quite the state of the art animal shelter. It even has an online Doggie Daycare Cam. Pretty cool.

I pulled a brochure out of my mailbox on Thursday entitled Aspen Animal Hospital Facilities Expansion Project. My first reaction was that I couldn't believe that the animal shelter was asking for money again so soon. After my double take, I read the brochure a bit more carefully and realized that this wasn't from the animal shelter but from the local vet, Scott Dolginow.

What?

The vet is asking for "donations" (which are not tax deductible, mind you) to fund his business. The Aspen Animal Hospital is a for-profit corporation, just like any other local business.

What would you think if your local businessman asked you to give him/her money to purchase equipment which s/he is then going to use to make money? You're not going to get a discount on future services; you're not getting a slice of the pie; it's not an investment. You're simply funding a purchase for no return. But he will be grateful.

I find this outrageous. Ballsy, but completely outrageous.

The most ironic piece is the recent piss poor review I found of this vet online today.